Sène eager for fresh start in New England

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Although Saër Sène could only watch Friday morning’s training session from the sidelines while awaiting final medical clearance, the dynamic French striker couldn’t mask his excitement at becoming the New England Revolution’s latest signing.

The 25-year-old forward scored 19 goals and added three assists in 55 appearances with Bayern Munich II – the German power’s reserve side – between 2009 and 2011, but Sène’s path to the first team was blocked by a world class strike corps including Thomas Müller and Mario Gomez. During his time in Munich, Sène made only a handful of first-team appearances in preseason friendlies and was an unused member of the club’s 2009-10 UEFA Champions League squad.

Desperate for consistent first-team minutes, Sène decided a change was necessary and the former Paris Saint-Germain youth product subsequently made the move across the Atlantic to Major League Soccer and the Revolution.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Sène said through goalkeeper coach Remi Roy, serving as a makeshift interpreter. “Bayern is a big club and I wasn’t getting as much playing time as I wanted, because obviously there were a lot of good players in front of me. So coming [to MLS], I’ll be given more opportunities to be in the first team.”

Sène’s pedigree initially attracted the striker-starved Revs, but it was his performance during a weeklong training stint with the club in Casa Grande, Ariz., that assured head coach Jay Heaps and the Revolution’s technical staff that Sène meshed with the team’s style and system. Conversely, the trip convinced Sène that the Revs were the right club for him as he takes the next step in his burgeoning career.

“I wanted to see the atmosphere, the group and the style of play,” said Sène. “Once I came, I just really enjoyed the guys and how things were done.”

Sène will have three weeks to train with his new teammates prior to the season opener and is expected to be available for the upcoming FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup matches against the LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake. When the regular season begins on March 10 in San Jose, Sène’s objectives mirror those of the vast majority of the world’s strikers: score goals and help the team win games.

“I read that the last two seasons haven’t been as good and I want to help the team do better and score goals,” Sène said. “If the team does well, then the goals will come.”